1. Field
The present invention generally relates to blast and ballistic protection. More specifically, the present invention pertains to blast and ballistic protection for the human body and for military systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
For military personnel and vehicles, it is of paramount importance to mitigate damage from blast waves and projectiles. The rapid impact (compression) effects of a blast overpressure wave on the human body are a reason why currently fielded ballistic body armor may successfully prevent penetrating and blunt impact injuries. However, present systems generally fail to mitigate damage from primary blast injuries caused by a blast overpressure wave. When a blast overpressure wave acts on body armor, the wave causes the body armor to move swiftly toward, and impact, the human body. Some of the kinetic energy is transferred to the body, causing high velocity behind armor blunt trauma (BABT). In this situation, the body armor may not be able to protect the body against the impact of the blast overpressure wave. Further, the body armor can potentially act in concert with the blast overpressure wave to increase the compression force exerted on the body, causing more serious blast-induced internal injuries. As such, an innovative personal body armor system that can effectively block propagation and interaction of blast overpressure in the human body may be desirable to prevent and mitigate the primary blast injuries.